


The Pursuit

by kristsune



Series: Make Love Not Death Stars [1]
Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: First Meetings, Hurt/Comfort, Lasat war, M/M, Nightmares, OC characters, Vigilante AU, assassin turned rogue, au where kallus rescues zeb, but is really good at research, kallus is a cocky bastard, muttonchops of mayhem, purple fuzz, redemption arc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-09
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-06-01 04:24:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6500701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kristsune/pseuds/kristsune
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“What makes you think I’m coming with you?” </p>
<p>“Oh I don’t know, the fact that I have a ship and I am gonna get us the kriff outta here.”</p>
<p>Assassin Kallus has a change of heart about his latest target, Garrazeb Orrelios. Choosing to save Zeb, though, might change more than just Kallus' occupation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Pursuit

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic ever of this length. So please be kind. This may or may not become the beginning of a series. I kind of love this au and might find ways to continue it.  
> HUGE shout out to the best beta ever [MrsSaxon](http://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsSaxon/pseuds/MrsSaxon)  
> Please feel free to visit me on [tumblr](http://kristsune.tumblr.com/)!!

Kallus was keeping an eye on his target across the cantina. He really needed to stop being so obvious, but it was really difficult considering how mesmerizing the large Lasat was to watch. He definitely looked the worse for wear, his clothes were cobbled together out of whatever he could find that fit. Anyone could tell that he hadn’t gotten a decent amount of sleep in weeks. Other than that, he still seemed fit, strong enough to go up against anything that got in his way. Which is exactly what Kallus was hoping for. 

Unfortunately Kallus was not the only one in the place with an eye on the target. The Empire put out a lot of good money to wipe out one of the few surviving members of the Honor Guard that escaped the destruction of Lasan. 

Kallus is done waiting though, he moves smoothly from his booth, adjusts his boring nondescript attire, and heads over to the Lasat. Kallus had done his research on the target, and knows that Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios is a proud, competent leader, and doesn’t take shit from anyone. So, this encounter should be pretty interesting. 

Kallus makes it over to the target’s booth, and starts, as he goes to sit across from him, “Hello there, my name is Kallus, and I know that doesn’t mean anything to you right now, but I figure it’s only polite to introduce myself first.” This is met with the blankest stare Kallus has ever seen, and he has dealt with Kel Dor in the past, so rather impressive really. He proceeds to sit down anyway. “I know what you are thinking: ‘who the kriff is this vaguely attractive man with excellent facial hair and what does he want’. Well, what I want is for you to walk out of this cantina alive. Zeb, may I call you Zeb?” Whose face is still impressively blank. 

“Zeb, I know who you are because I am one of at least eight people in here that were sent to ‘get rid’ of you, whatever they meant by that. I mean if they want you dead, why not just say so?” Kallus shakes his head. “Anyway, I don’t want you dead. I did my research, and I must say, I find you very… fascinating. You’ve got an excellent style, and I’m pretty fed up with taking jobs for the Empire. So, what do ya’ say? Want to get outta here?” Kallus throws in a wink at the end just because he could.

Zeb looks like he is thinking about the proposition, but just says the flattest “No.” You could hear the period at the end. Very distinct. Alright. Time to work another angle.

“No? Well, if you insist. Just so you know the only reason that none of the hunters out there have made a move is because they know if I didn’t get the first crack at you they would’ve been dead faster than it takes spit to freeze on Hoth. Though, from the looks of it, some of them are getting impatient with my rambling. They all figured you would be a bit more dead at this point.” Kallus noticed at least three of the others were fidgeting with their assorted weapons, which isn’t completely unusual, but it was pretty telling at this point. Just as he was going to take another go at Zeb he saw the flash of a blaster and shoved Zeb to the side just in time for the wall behind him to explode. 

Kallus meets Zeb under their booth, it’s not the most comfortable, there is not a ton of space and neither of them are terribly small. 

“Nice friends ya got there,” Zeb finally deigned to share.

“Oh no, definitely wouldn’t consider them friends, more like, respectful rivals.”  
Kallus side eyes Zeb while keeping an eye on the hostiles on most sides, “Alright, I’ve got a ship in hangar bay seven, if we can get there we should be set.”

“What makes you think I’m coming with you?” Zeb replies.

“Oh I don’t know, the fact that I have a ship and I am gonna get us the kriff outta here.”

“Really? Okay, Mr. Excellent Facial Hair, let’s see if you can get us out of this mess, and I’ll think about going with you.” 

This is what Kallus was waiting for, he had read that Zeb was both sassy and snarky, and the more he gave, the more involved he got. This was going to work. Of course as soon as that thought popped into his brain the entirety of the table shattered into a million pieces.

Kallus pulls out his modified bo-rifle from under the remains of the table and starts blasting their way through the cantina. “Where did you get that?!” Zeb sounds rather angry. Shit. Forgot about that. “Oh, yeah, about that” Kallus yells over the blaster fire. “I have a good explanation for that, promise.”

“You better.” Zeb growls out while pushing past him with his own more traditional bo-rifle taking out the last opponent before rushing out the door towards the hangar bay. 

“Well, this is just going swimmingly” Kallus mutters to himself before jogging after Zeb. 

~~~~~~~~~

What the kriff is he getting himself into. Allowing an admittedly vaguely attractive human, with a modified bo-rifle no less, drag him out of that cantina and onto a ship to who knows where. Unfortunately this Kallus guy did save his life. That is something he can’t forget. Not that he deserves to live of course, after his failure on Lasan. Letting his people get slaughtered while he survived. He sighs and flicks his ears back briefly. No need to go down that train of thought. Again.

Zeb knows enough about himself to realize he is also moderately interested in what Kallus is all about. He obviously didn’t just want to help one of the last Honor Guard escape a grisly death. He has something else in mind, and Zeb plans to find out what that is. He stretches from his place in a spare bunk and heads to the cockpit to have just that conversation.

~~~~~~~~~~

They made it to Kallus’ YT-1000, The Pursuit, without much trouble and after they make it into hyperspace Kallus leans back in the pilot's chair to wait for Zeb. He knows he’ll be coming to him with questions. He needs to word this right so he can pull Zeb into his plan rather than push him away. He is pretty sure he can do this right. He needs a partner in this, and Zeb will be perfect for it. Not only is he smart, strong, fast and good in a tight spot, he is also more attractive than expected. This should work out just fine. 

As if right on cue Zeb silently walks in, it’s amazing how quiet they are when they have such large feet. He just sits in the first mate’s chair and turns and looks at Kallus with a raised eyebrow.

Kallus looks at him and flaps his hand. “Yes, yes alright, what would you like to know first?”

Zeb growls out, “The bo-rifle, you shouldn’t have it. That first, because if your answer isn’t good enough you are letting me off at the next habitable planet and if I see you again you are bantha meat.” 

Kallus holds up a placating hand, “I know the bo-rifle is revered among the Lasat, and that no one else should even place their hands on one. I received this from a skirmish a few years back in which I bested a member of the Honor Guard. He gave me this weapon telling me I was an honorable opponent.” Kallus pauses seeing the Lasat dying next to him pressing the rifle into his hands. When he speaks again, it’s much quieter, and with less bravado. “I didn’t think it was right to leave it behind.” He makes eye contact with Zeb who’s left ear flicks in what seems to be a nervous tic and actually looks impressed. “Unfortunately it wasn’t until later that I realized I had been on the wrong side of that fight from the start.” 

Zeb holds the eye contact for what feels like an eternity, looking for something in Kallus’ face, though what he is looking for Kallus has no idea. When he finally breaks contact he states in a low voice, “Yeah, you were correct not to leave it behind. That bo-rifle is rightfully yours.”

Well that is not the reaction Kallus expected, and he also didn’t expect the swell of some sort of feeling in his chest. Something he cannot describe. He visibly shakes himself, no time to think about that now. Set it aside for later. 

“What next?” Kallus asks while leaning back in his chair.

Zeb looks up with the corner of his eye, “What do you want with me? What could you possibly want with a failure of a Lasat like me?” His ears tilting down and back only increasing the feeling of anguish surrounding him. 

Kallus’ face softens a bit. He is not entirely surprised with the phrasing of the question, but he is saddened that such a proud and strong creature could be brought so low. He resists the urge to reach out to comfort, but just barely. He hasn’t felt the need to comfort in ages. He can’t actually remember the last time he wanted to give comfort. The least he can do for Zeb is closure, he can help give him that. Here goes nothing. 

“What I want is inconsequential Zeb, what do you want?” Zeb just looks at Kallus with a questioning look. “What if I told you I could help you avenge the slaughter of your people? Find the people responsible and make them pay for what they have done? You don’t need to sit back and take what they have done to you. You can fight, you can get revenge for the massacre they have caused.” 

Kallus leans further forward and gets more passionate with each passing word. Zeb’s eyes just get wider and wider and his ears are at full attention facing as far forward as they will go. He looks as if this had never occurred to him. Like he never thought about going against the Empire, about tearing it apart piece by piece showing what happens when you recklessly destroy an entire planet. 

Zeb shakes himself, “I don’t know what to say.” His left ear flicks back again. Definitely a nervous tic then. “I need to think.” He gets up and leaves the cockpit, presumably heading for his bunk. 

Well, that could’ve gone better, but it certainly could’ve gone a lot worse. Considering Zeb didn’t outright refuse him, Kallus is taking this as a good sign. He isn’t really needed in the cockpit until they get closer to their destination. Might as well take advantage of the time and take a nap. Zeb will come to him when he is ready. 

 

Kallus startles awake to find Zeb sitting across from in the common room him looking at him with a softness around the eyes and his ears are relaxed. Kallus is not sure what to think about that so he just clears his throat and sits up. “Sorry, it’s been a long day.” 

“Heh, don’t I know it.” Zeb replies. He rubs the back of his neck and his ears do this little wobble back and forth. “Look, I’ve been thinking, and I am definitely interested in your proposal, but I still don’t know why you chose me, and what is in it for you? I can’t do this without knowing anything about you. If we are going to do this, I have a feeling we are going to need to trust each other, and I need to know you before I can do that.”

Kallus takes a deep breath and releases it through his nose. “Yeah, alright.” He shifts back in his seat and leans forward looking at his hands sitting on the table between them. “I had been in the Empire. Left home as early as I could to be a cadet. Thought I was fighting the good fight. Bringing the galaxy together. It was good for a while. I never got too close to any of the other cadets. We didn’t mesh well. I was too competitive, and too good. Made everyone else look bad.” 

Zeb smirks at that, ears flicking forward and back. “Soon enough I was working my way up through the ranks. I was to lead a battle in preparation to my next promotion to captain, to see if I could handle the troops. It happened to be the same skirmish that I battled that Lasat I got the bo-rifle from. I gained the promotion, but it didn’t sit well with me. Everything about that battle was just too one sided, it didn’t feel right. So with my new found access I did some digging and found some things I probably shouldn’t have. One of them being that the Empire specifically waited until the majority of the warriors on that planet were helping another group in order to swoop in and kill whoever was left behind. I didn’t handle it well. I quit. I left.” Kallus finally looks up afraid to see what is on Zeb’s face. Yet again the Lasat surprises him. His ears are tilted back, and his eyes have a look of compassion in them, but his mouth is a hard line. Better than nothing.

“The only problem with that,” Kallus continues, “is the empire doesn’t let go so easily. I had to become a hired assassin or be hunted down and killed myself. I was still able to choose my targets, and choose the ones that I didn’t like. I took the ones that deserved it, and gave the rest to some of my respectful rivals.”

Zeb nods, “Alright. You saved me, and I didn’t really deserve it,” left ear flick, “so let’s see what you’ve got for plans and find out what we can do to knock these nerf herders down a notch.”

Kallus smiles shrewdly, “Excellent. The good news is, when I was last on a base, I snagged some intel on a high ranking officer traveling to a remote world in the Western Regions.” Kallus gets up to grab a data pad from a drawer to bring back to the table. “If we plan it right, we should be able to take him out without any extraneous casualties.” 

They discuss plans and strategies for a couple hours. Going over every detail. They both want to make sure this goes off without a hitch. Zeb also read up on the officer in question. Finding out that he had young Lasat slaves sealed the deal. Kallus was honestly impressed that he got the data pad back in one piece. 

Finally after Kallus notices Zeb’s ears drooping and his head nodding forward for the third time, “Zeb.”

Zeb’s head snaps up and his ears flick forward, “Huh, What?”

Kallus almost reaches out to rest his hand on Zeb’s forearm, but thinks better of it. “Go get some sleep. I already got a nap in. We still have a couple hours until we get there. We have everything together. Go, sleep.”

Zeb nods, “Yeah, thanks. That’s probably a good idea.” 

“Oh before I forget, I had some Lasat sized jumpsuits made whether you decided to stay or not.” 

Zeb looks taken aback, “Really?.” He pauses and looks down at his mismatched clothes, “I haven’t been able to find anything that fit properly in a long time.” He looks up at Kallus, “Thank you.” His ears do this front to back motion, like he’s unsure of what to do. “I better go rest then.” 

Kallus nods, “Absolutely, go. I’ll get you before it's time to go.”

Kallus watches him go with a small smile on his face. This also went better than predicted. This is it,he can feel it, he finally is going to be free of the Empire, and he is going to have someone with him to help him get there. 

 

About six hours later they are at the Official's compound and ready to take on whatever they find. Kallus feels much better back in his all black combat gear. He had hoped Zeb would choose the matching black jumpsuit, but no luck, he went with the orange one with yellow accents. He would complain about them sticking out like a Wompa on Tatooine, but “Zeb” and “discreet” don’t really belong in the same sentence together. Though, Kallus couldn’t deny that the orange complemented Zeb’s fur nicely.

They agreed to non lethal methods as much as possible for security removal, which didn’t seem to upset Zeb too much. When Kallus saw how Zeb could use his strength to knock heads together, he understood. Those security officers would be unconscious for quite some time. 

They were getting close to where the Official should be when they hear crying in one of the rooms across the hall. Zeb’s left ear flicks as they look at each other. After a pause they nod and check the door, unfortunately it’s not like a door Kallus has seen before. It’s just a rectangle with a handle to one side of it.There is no port or instrument panel, nothing he can hack into to open it. He looks over at Zeb, “Have you seen anything like this?”

Zeb walks up to the door and looks around the entire thing, feeling where it connects on either side. Kallus has had just about enough and is about to ask him what the kriff he thinks he’s doing when Zeb grabs the handle and yanks. Kallus leaps back even though he was on the opposite side. He just looks at Zeb with his eyebrows practically in his hairline. Zeb just shrugs as he drops the door, “Cheap hinges.” 

“Yeah, nice. I was thinking about the noise!” Kallus tries to whisper but it doesn’t really work. 

Zeb just shrugs again and starts to walk into the room and stops dead. Kallus is instantly concerned. He can see every single muscle in Zeb’s body tense. “Zeb, Zeb! What is it?!”  
Kallus struggles to get around him to see. 

“Shit.”

There are three young Lasat slaves chained to the wall. They are all huddled together, none of them looking at either Kallus or Zeb. Alright. They can still do this. Kallus puts on the softest voice he can muster, “Hey hey, it’s alright, we aren’t here to hurt you. We are gonna get you out of here okay?” One of the slaves looks up, it’s a little girl, she looks to be the oldest of the three. Her eyes widen at the sight of Zeb, “Yeah, see another Lasat, we are friendly okay? Are any of you hurt?” She looks back at Kallus and shakes her head. “Okay good. That’s good. Let’s get you out of these okay?”

He turns to Zeb, “Hey, Muscles, give me a hand here.” Which seems to finally snap him out of his trance. He comes over to the children and kneels down to their level and says something in their native tongue while gently prying the manacles off. It must’ve been good because the little girl actually smiles. The other two sit up at Zeb’s voice and look completely awestruck. One is a little boy, and the youngest is another girl. He keeps talking to the kids while working. It’s doing wonders keeping them distracted, and they don’t seem quite so listless. 

It’s fascinating listening to him speak. The Lasan language is an interesting one, but almost no one except native speakers can pronounce it correctly so you don’t hear it much anymore. The r’s roll so nicely off of Zeb’s tongue, he could probably listen to this all day. Kallus has to shake his head to get it back in the game. As soon as all three are free of their chains they hear noises coming from the hallway. Zeb grabs his bo-rifle and stands up, his face goes dark. He looks over at Kallus with a question in his eye. “Go. Do what needs to be done. I will take care of them, I will get them out safe.” Zeb just nods once and stalks out of the room heading towards their intended target. 

Kallus looks back at the three young Lasat children. “Alright, we are gonna get out of here, but I’m going to need your help okay?” All three nod. “Excellent. My name is Kallus, do you all have names that I can call you?” 

The oldest girl nods and says in a quiet voice, “I am Karvi, he is Riast and she Cenkalla.”

“Those are all lovely names. You are all doing so well. Karvi, can you walk?” She nods. “That’s great. Riast would you like to hop onto my back?” He asks while picking up the little Cenkalla into his arms. He situates her so she’s all on one side and he can still hold his blaster. “Alright, I think we are good to go, just stay with me okay Karvi? If you get tired just let me know and we will rest, sound good?” She nods and actually smiles just a little. 

Kallus peeks out of the room and looks around. He doesn’t see anyone, but he might have just heard a thump down the hall that Zeb went down. He turns back to Karvi, “We are all going to be real quiet, right kiddos?” While turning to Riast on his back. Both of them nod. He looks down at Cenkalla and she just smiles at him. He finds himself smiling back, “Let’s go.”

They go back the same way that Kallus and Zeb had come in. Hopefully all the guards they knocked out are still unconcious. He takes it slow and keeps checking in both directions. While checking behind him Karvi squeaks out, “Kallus! Over there!” while pointing to the left. Kallus gets the guard with his blaster just before he can fire.

“Thank you Karvi. Good eye.” He smiles at her while ruffling the fur on top of her head. She smiles up at him. “You doing okay? Good to keep moving?” She nods and starts forward. Kallus is just amazed at the tenacity of the Lasat all over again. How strong they are even as younglings. He desperately hopes they can get them somewhere safe where they can grow up away from the ugliness of the galaxy. 

They eventually make it out of the compound, breaking every so often to let Karvi rest a bit. Kallus has no idea how long they had been chained up, but he doesn’t want to push her too hard. They make it back to the ship before Zeb, which is a little disconcerting, but not overly so. This is Zeb’s first kill while not in battle. It might take some time. He really rather would have been with him for this. Encourage him, support him, help him become something even greater than he already was. He trusts Zeb will get it done, especially after seeing the younglings. The look on Zeb’s face when he left the room was a dangerous one. For now, he should focus on the kids until Zeb gets back.

“Hey kiddos, how are you all doing? You hungry?” All three nod emphatically. “Alright, well, unfortunately, we don’t have much besides rations,” Kallus says while looking through everything, “Oh I do have something good for you, forgot I had one of these left.” 

“What’s that?” Little Cenkalla asks.

“This my dear, is a meiloorun fruit, not very common, but very delicious, would you like some?” 

All three cheer, “Yes!”

Kallus chuckles, “Alright, let’s get this cut up evenly for you so you can have a snack until we wait for Zeb to come back”

“Is Zeb that big Lasat that made the door explode?” Riast asks.

“Yes, he is.” Kallus smiles at the thought of the ‘exploding’ door.

“I liked him, he could speak like we do.” Riast says.

“Yeah me too!” Cenkalla pipes in.

Karvi just looks up at Kallus, “Is he going to get rid of the bad man that took us?”

Kallus looks at Karvi honestly, “Yes, he is. That bad man is never going to hurt anyone ever again.”

Karvi nods once, “Good. That man took us away from our home, we didn’t like it there.”

“Do you know where you are? If your home nearby?” Kallus asks hopefully thinking if even within the system they would make a detour to bring these kids home.

“Yeah! We live on the other side of this planet with our families. We all live together and are all one big family. It’s nice.” Riast helpfully supplies as he’s finishing his piece of meiloorun.

“Well that is just excellent news! Is everyone done with their fruit?” All three nod. “Good. You have all had an exhausting day, how about you take a bit of a lie down?” All three nod. He picks up Cenkalla, Riast and Karvi follows behind. He sets them up on Zeb’s bunk hoping they will settle quickly with the scent of another Lasat in the room. He almost shuts the door, but thinks better of it, considering they had just been locked in a room for who knows how long. 

 

Kallus is back in the common room on the ship when Zeb gets back. Who just sets down his bo-rifle and sits across from Kallus. “We good?”

“He’s dead if that’s what you’re asking. So is the smuggler that took them from their camp. Unfortunately I didn’t get a location before his heart gave out.” Zeb growls out. His tone instantly softens, “How are the younglings?”

“They are fine, currently napping in your bunk, I hope that’s okay?” Zeb nods. “The good news is the refugee camp they came from is on world. We can get them there tomorrow. Hey, what’s wrong?” Kallus asks after Zeb looks down and his ears droop. 

“I wasn’t even aware there were camps anywhere. I have not seen another Lasat since the fall. I almost thought I was the last one left.” This time Kallus doesn’t repress his urge to comfort, and lays a hand over Zeb’s wrist. He looks up at Kallus and there is the ghost of a smile hidden under all that pain. 

Kallus stands up without taking his hand from Zeb’s arm. “Come on, we won’t be able to bring those kids anywhere until tomorrow, and we are well hidden here. Let’s get some sleep.”

“I don’t know if you noticed, but my bunk is currently occupied by three small children.” Zeb deadpans.

“It’s fine, my bunk is a bit bigger than standard, we can both fit. Probably.” Kallus rushes out, slightly afraid of the answer.

Zeb shakes his head and huffs, “Sure, why not? Not like this day could get any more unusual.”

They step into Kallus’ bunk and Zeb is actually impressed with the size of his bed. He raises an eyebrow at Kallus. 

“What? I always hated how small the beds were everywhere in the Empire. Figured if I could modify my own, why should I suffer with something the size of a cot?”

Zeb shrugs. “Fair point.” 

Zeb goes to lay down and Kallus asks, “Would you like to get into something more comfortable?”

Zeb just stares at him, and Kallus’ eyes go wide, “Oh! Oh no, that is not what I meant, I just, I didn’t know what you wanted to do about clothes what was comfortable... Okay. I am just going to stop talking, do what you want.”

The only reason Kallus even opened his mouth was because one of the things he gave up after leaving the Empire was sleeping with clothes on. And where obviously he wasn’t going to do that, he figured he would at least offer to get somewhat comfortable. He is at least taking his jacket off though, trying to sleep with that on was like trying to sleep in a sauna. When he turns around he catches Zeb giving him a thorough once over. When Zeb reaches Kallus’ face he quickly turns away his ears turning down and back just a bit. Kallus almost makes a witty remark, but decides to leave it be. Zeb was obviously embarrassed about being caught, and Kallus can’t help but feel flattered by the attention. Kallus turns off the light and heads over to the bed. 

“Scoot over, I don’t want to fall off” Kallus shoves at Zeb’s shoulder and lays down. They are both on their backs staring resolutely at the ceiling. 

“You should really be against the wall,” Zeb states, “you will likely fall off if you don’t.” So Kallus sits up and tries to stretch over Zeb but Zeb moves too quick and Kallus falls half on top of him

“Oof, uh, sorry just, let me move my leg. There. Okay.” Kallus is firmly settled against the wall, and they are both staring up at the ceiling again. Kallus shifts uncomfortably, he rarely sleeps on his back, he prefers to sprawl out. He turns over onto his side realizing Zeb did the same thing. They stare at each other briefly.

“Uhh, good night.”

“Yeah, same to you, I’m just gonna..” Zeb mimes pointing over his shoulder. 

“Oh yeah, sure.”

After Zeb turns over, Kallus takes a moment to admire the broad shoulders and long lean back before he takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. Definitely do not need to go down that road tonight. After the initial awkwardness of the situation, nevermind Kallus sticking his foot in his mouth, this is actually rather comfortable. It’s kind of nice to know that there is someone there. He falls asleep shortly after that thought a smile on his face. 

 

It’s the middle of the night and Kallus wakes up to movement next to him. Zeb is tossing and murmuring in his sleep. Kallus isn’t sure what to do, he’s never been in this kind of situation. Just as he is trying to figure out whether or not to wake him Kallus’s decision is taken from him as Zeb sits up rigid and panting. There is no way he can just leave him like that. He gets in front of Zeb trying to get his attention without touching him, unsure of how he would react. 

“Zeb, hey, can you hear me? Zeb?” He waves his hands in front of Zeb and he finally looks at Kallus. And the absolutely heart wrenching look that he gives Kallus is almost too much. There are unshed tears in his eyes and he looks so lost. He goes to put his hand on Zeb’s cheek, telegraphing his movements, allowing him to move away. When his hand get’s to his face Zeb just closes his eyes and leans into it. And that is all it takes, Kallus just wraps his arms around him and Zeb just buries his head into Kallus’ chest, his whole body shaking. Kallus starts rubbing his back and making quiet reassurances. It’s mostly nonsense, but it seems to be helping. 

After some time he gets Zeb to lay back down, whispering the whole time. He never loses contact with Zeb, always sure to be touching either his arm, his neck or his cheek. Making sure Zeb stays in the moment, so he doesn’t get lost in his nightmare again. Zeb finally falls asleep, and Kallus allows himself to drift off as well.

~~~~~~~

The first thing Zeb notices when he wakes up is actually feeling okay for the first time in a long time. The second thing he notices is that he is basically using Kallus as a human pillow. His arm is wrapped completely around Kallus’ waist, and it feels like it belongs there. Kallus’ hand is resting in the dip between his neck and collarbone. It feels so nice just to be touched. He revels in it for a moment, but this is going to get awkward fast if he doesn’t get out of this quickly. 

Just as he is about to try and extricate himself he freezes. The dream. The one where everything is on fire. It came back full force last night, and Kallus saw it all. Then he remembers how soothing Kallus was grounding him in the moment, not letting him lose himself again. He’s never been able to fall asleep after that dream, but he actually feels well rested for once. He looks up at Kallus, and definitely cannot sort out his feelings there. He murdered at this human’s suggestion, but he feels no remorse. Especially after seeing those younglings, he knew what had to be done. He takes a deep breath and disentangles himself from Kallus to go check on the little ones. 

~~~~~~~~~~

The first thing Kallus notices when he wakes up is that he is cold. Probably because the furnace he was sleeping next to apparently already vacated the bunk. The second thing he notices is that he is legitimately covered in purple fuzz. Well, great, luckily purple goes great with all the black he wears. He gets up to go change when he hears it, he pauses to listen. If he didn’t know any better, he would say that was a giggle. His eyes widen, the younglings. He has some, well let’s go with ‘not children friendly’ items on board that would be decidedly Not Good if they got into them. 

He gets to the common room and is confronted with an unusual scene. Zeb is on his back laying on the floor with Cenkalla and Riast being held aloft with each of his considerable feet. Karvi has her arms out to the sides dipping and swaying around the other three making wooshing noises.

Kallus leans against the wall and enjoys their moment of happiness. Zeb notices him sooner rather than later and lets the kids down gently. 

“Uhh, hey,” Zeb says while rubbing the back of his neck, “We didn’t wake you did we?” 

“No, not at all. Are you enjoying yourselves?” Kallus directs the question at the younglings.

“Yeah!” All three exclaim.

“Zeb is the best space ship! He makes all the right noises!” Riast adds.

“I’m sure he does.” Kallus isn’t sure, but he thinks he can see a blush under all that fur.

Kallus turns back towards the kids, “What do you say about some food, and then how about we get you home to your big family?”

All three giggle excitedly and gather around the table for a nutritional but not terribly appetizing meal. 

 

They were able to land The Pursuit in a field not far away from the camp. They let the younglings run ahead, and a few adult Lasat rush out to meet them. Zeb stops walking. Kallus looks over at him, his ears are down and his face is a mixture of wonder and grief. 

“Would you like to join them?” Kallus asks. The question hanging heavy between them. 

“I.. I can’t. It’s too much. I couldn’t keep them safe before, I wouldn’t be able to keep them safe now. At least, not by staying here.” He looks over at Kallus with his ears forward, looking hopeful. “But maybe I can, we can protect them by eliminating some of the evil in the galaxy.”

Kallus smiles at him, “Yeah, I think maybe we could.”

The Lasat wave to them as they turn around to head back to The Pursuit. 

“So Kal,” Zeb looks over at Kallus, “where are we off to next?”

Kallus just turns his incredulous look to Zeb, “Kal?”

“What, you get to call by my nickname, why can’t I give you one?”

“I don’t know! I’ve never had one before.”

Zeb rests his arm around Kallus’ shoulders as they step into the ship, “Well Kal, ya got one now.”


End file.
